Large displays are becoming increasingly popular and are expected to gain further traction in the coming years as Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) get cheaper for television (TV) and digital advertising becomes more popular at gas stations, malls, and coffee shops. Substantial growth (e.g., over 40%) has been seen in the past several years for large format displays (e.g., >40 inch TVs), and consumers have grown accustomed to larger displays for laptops and Personal Computers (PC) as well. As more viewing content is available via mobile devices such as TV, internet and video, displays in handheld consumer electronics remain small (<6 inch) with the keyboard, camera, and other features competing for space and power.
Additionally, smart lighting is emerging as a large opportunity within the current $80B lighting market, where sensors and connectivity are introduced into the light source, as well as dynamic features related to the illumination.
Existing illumination sources have substantial shortcomings in meeting the needs of these important applications. Specifically, the delivered lumens per electrical watt of power consumption is typically quite low, due to the low efficiency of the source, the low spatial brightness of the source and very low optical efficiency of optical engines. Another key drawback is in the cost per delivered lumen, which, for existing sources, is typically high because of the poor optical efficiency. Another key shortcoming of the existing sources relates to the lack of dynamic functionality, specifically in their limited ability to generate dynamic spatial and color patterns in a compact form factor with high efficiency and low cost.
Therefore, improved systems for displaying images and video, and smart lighting are desired.